


the rhythm of the night

by the_crownless_queen



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-19 05:27:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13117002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_crownless_queen/pseuds/the_crownless_queen
Summary: Alec's eyes drifted past his sister and into the crowd, seeking out something. Or rather someone."Looking for Magnus?" Izzy asked, dark eyes twinkling knowingly.Or a night at Pandemonium.





	the rhythm of the night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thepistolgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepistolgirl/gifts).



> For sweetmagnus - I hope you enjoy this.

Alec didn’t like to drink. Part of it was the taste — even if Magnus (and his siblings, but mostly Magnus, really) had introduced him to countless variations of cocktails and other alcoholic beverages, Alec still couldn't help but wince whenever that first bitter sip hit his tongue.

Mostly, however, he just didn’t like the idea of losing control. He had seen what alcohol could do to mortals (and Jace, too, on numerous occasions — though Jace often acted just as stupidly sober than he did drunk) and the idea of ever…  _ slipping _ in such a way was both abhorrent and slightly frightening.

And yet, here he was, stationed at the bar at Pandemonium, a glass of  _ something _ in his hand that he took occasional sips of and didn’t entirely dislike. 

He wasn’t sure how many he’d had already — enough to dull the edges of the world, certainly. Had someone told him that he’d feel safe here a year ago, he wouldn’t have believed them, but this was Magnus’ domain. It was hard not to feel like he belonged knowing that.

Besides,  _ Magnus _ had thrown this party, and even if it sort of felt like he’d invited half the Downworld, Alec was currently too happy to care. He had mingled earlier, and now he was perfectly content with just looking.

“Having fun, big brother?” Izzy asked, the lightness of her tone at odds with the piercing intensity of her gaze. She looked happy, if slightly out of breath, and not for the first time Alec was reminded that his sister enjoyed this kind of setting — she loved to dance until the line of her hair started to glisten with sweat, loved to flirt with strangers (and not so strangers, sometimes). It made her dark eyes shine.

Alec shrugged, raising his voice so she could hear him over the loud beat of the music. “I’m not  _ not _ having fun,” he said, a smile tugging at his lips despite his words.

His eyes drifted past his sister and into the crowd, seeking out something. 

Or rather some _ one _ .

He only realized he was doing it when Izzy laughed and nudged him in the side to get his attention. 

“Looking for Magnus?” she asked, dark eyes twinkling knowingly.

Alec wanted to scowl but his lips pulled into a grin instead as his cheeks started to heat up a bit. He took another sip to cover it — with luck, the lighting from the club would hide his blush, or at the very least help him blame it on the alcohol.

Still, he nodded. “Have you see him?”

Izzy smirked. “Why, are you going to ask him for a dance?” She wiggled her eyebrows at him, her laughter ringing sharp and clear over the loud bass of the music pulsating all around them.

“I might,” Alec retorted before he could stop himself.

Isabelle’s smile softened. “I’m happy for you,” she said. “You and Magnus… I’m glad.”

Throat suddenly tight, Alec nodded. “Yeah, me too,” he managed to say, even if those words couldn’t describe properly how he felt for Magnus.

Even love, sometimes, felt like too small of a word for the way Magnus pulled him in helplessly, for the way Alec’s mind was always, on some level, thinking about him — for the way his heart burned sometimes, making it hard to breathe as he looked at Magnus.

As Alec looked on, the crowd parted and Magnus strode out. He was wearing skin-tight pants Alec was pretty sure he could only have used magic to put on, and his hair was styled with azure streaks that were a reminder of the color of his shirt.

Alec’s heart skipped a beat as he spied the way Magnus’ skin seemed to glow under the club’s lighting. He wasn’t sure if it was just Magnus’ presence, or if he had used glitter again, or perhaps magic — or even a combination of all three — but the end result was the same: it took Alec’s breath away.

“You’re drooling,” Izzy said with a laugh. “Close your mouth or you’ll catch flies.”

Alec’s mouth fell shut with an audible click as he glared at her. He didn’t get the chance to retort though, as Magnus joined them.

It was almost frightening, how quickly Alec’s glare turned into a helpless kind of smile when he saw his boyfriend. 

“Hey there,” Magnus said, a brilliant grin playing on his lips. He tilted his chin up and Alec kissed him, a quick peck on the lips that they both struggled not to let turn into anything longer. When they parted, Magnus’ eyes were glowing and Alec was all too aware of the way his heart was now racing in his chest. 

“Hi,” Alec stuttered as Magnus fell by his side, his hand slipping into Alec’s like it was second nature (in many ways, these days it was).

“Hey Magnus,” Izzy said. She nodded toward the crowd. “Congratulations — you’ve really outdone yourself with this party!”

“Thank you, Isabelle,” Magnus replied with a regal nod. “I think this might be one of my best.”

“You say that about all your parties,” Alec said in a fond huff.

“That’s because they’re all my best, of course.”

Well, Alec wasn’t about to deny that. He smiled at Magnus, and Magnus smiled back — and just like that, it was like they were alone in this room, like nobody else mattered.

Izzy’s amused but pointed cough snapped him out of it.

“Well, I should leave you two to it,” she said with a suggestive wink that, even now, still made Alec’s cheeks flush red. “Congrats again,” she added, tone softening with fondness. “To the both of you.”

They barely had time to thank her before she dove back into the crowd. Alec thought he saw a flash of Jace’s blonde hair ahead of her, but he couldn’t be sure.

“You’re wearing your ring,” Alec noted lightly. Where their fingers pressed together, he could feel the cool metal and it made his heart flip in his chest.

“Hmm?” Magnus asked, his head jerking up a bit in surprise. Looking in that direction, Alec saw that his eyes had drifted toward Simon and Raphael, caught in some sort of odd not-dance — Raphael appeared to be trying to glare Simon into stopping his ridiculous behavior, and was failing horrible (not that he seemed to mind  _ too _ much, considering he smiled every now and then).

“I said,” Alec repeated louder as he dragged his eyes away from that unlikely couple and back to Magnus, “you’re wearing your ring.” He raised Magnus’ hand, intertwined with his, and looked pointedly at the elegant silver ring he had placed there only a few days ago (he couldn’t believe it had taken him that long to find the nerve).

Magnus’ grip tightened minutely around Alec’s hand. “Of course I am,” he replied with a  teasing huff. “I’m never taking this off now — you’re stuck with me.”

Alec laughed. “Is that going in your vows then —  that I’m ‘stuck with you’?”

Magnus looked so offended at the thought that Alec couldn’t help but laugh again.

“Alexander, I’ll have you know that my vows to you will be nothing short of perfect.” He huffed again, this time clearly amused, and Alec couldn’t resist the urge to kiss him again.

"What do you say we take this elsewhere?" Magnus asked. He was a little breathless, and though their lips had parted, they were still standing close enough that Alec could count every glittering eyelash framing golden cat-like eyes.

If there was a day Alec wouldn’t lose himself in those eyes, it hadn't come yet. And never would, if Alec had anything to say about it.

"Won't the guests miss us?" Alec asked, frowning a little as he glanced at their surroundings. Considering how little the party seemed to involve them now, he thought they could probably get away with it, but he was loath to leave if there was anything he should stay for.

Magnus laughed. "I'm pretty sure they're wondering why we haven't left yet." 

Alec felt his lips stretch into a wider grin, happiness bubbling in his chest. “Well, then we shouldn’t disappoint them any longer, should we?”

Surprise shot through Magnus’ eyes, quickly replaced with something heated. “No, we shouldn’t.”


End file.
